Real Estate

  • August 15, 2024

    Judge Rejects GE's Bid To Pull Plug On Contamination Suit

    A Louisiana federal judge on Wednesday refused to let General Electric escape a lawsuit alleging it is liable for widespread environmental contamination caused by a now-closed pressure valve manufacturing facility that GE used to own.

  • August 15, 2024

    Realtors Urge 9th Circ. Not To Revive Zillow Antitrust Case

    The National Association of Realtors has urged the Ninth Circuit to reject a defunct brokerage platform's appeal in a case over design changes Zillow made to comply with an association rule, saying the rule is optional and that Zillow acted on its own.

  • August 15, 2024

    Conn. Couple, Cos. Clash In Waterfront Access Suit

    A married couple and several companies are battling in Connecticut state court over the companies' motion to personally examine two related Bridgeport properties and other areas in the couple's waterfront access suit.

  • August 15, 2024

    Pa. District's Appeal Method Is Constitutional, Court Affirms

    A Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas correctly ruled that a school district did not violate the state's uniformity clause when using a monetary threshold to decide which property tax assessments to appeal, the state Commonwealth Court affirmed Thursday.

  • August 15, 2024

    No Coverage For Las Vegas Apartment Fire Suits, Judge Says

    An excess insurer needn't cover the owners of a Las Vegas apartment building in underlying suits over a 2019 fire that left six people dead, a Nevada federal court ruled, saying the property was not a designated location under the policy.

  • August 15, 2024

    Judge Says Sioux Tribe Can't Hold US Liable In Building Row

    The federal government is not responsible for paying for a deteriorating building on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, a Federal Claims Court judge has determined, saying that although given every opportunity to present its theory, missteps plagued the tribe's presentation for monetary relief.

  • August 15, 2024

    Fla. Judge Rules Miami Official's Salary Can't Be Garnished

    A Florida federal judge recommended the dissolution of a garnishment levied against the salary of a Miami elected official who a jury said owes $63.5 million for civil rights violations, saying the evidence shows that he qualifies for a head-of-household exemption.

  • August 15, 2024

    Developer Loses Attempt To Get Damages From Carlton Fields

    A Miami developer suing the Carlton Fields law firm for $10 million can't recover damages arising from an underlying finding of civil theft against him, a Florida state judge ruled Thursday.

  • August 15, 2024

    Paul Hastings Adds M&A, Shareholder Activism Lawyer

    Paul Hastings LLP announced Thursday that it has boosted the firm's mergers and acquisitions and shareholder activism platform with a longtime Goodwin Procter LLP partner.

  • August 14, 2024

    CFPB Faces Call To Treat Housing Rental Leases As 'Credit'

    A major consumer advocacy group has formally petitioned the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to write new rules that would require landlords to provide "adverse action" explanations when rejecting prospective renters who have applied for an apartment or other housing lease.

  • August 14, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Won't Rehear Utah Tribe's Water Dispute

    A Federal Circuit panel refused to rehear a Utah tribe's challenge to the U.S. government that looked to overturn a Federal Claims Court ruling that held it didn't violate a 19th century law by not securing new water and infrastructure rights for the Indigenous community.

  • August 14, 2024

    Top Stories From Real Estate's Latest Quarterly Updates

    Catch up on the headlines made by the largest public real estate companies during their latest quarterly earnings calls with investors, from data centers and lease deals to market forecasts and casinos. 

  • August 14, 2024

    4th Circ. Says Credit Card 'Offset' Ban Applies To HELOCs

    Creditors are prohibited from withdrawing funds from a cardholder's deposit account to cover outstanding payments on a home equity line of credit without the borrower's consent, a divided Fourth Circuit panel ruled Wednesday.

  • August 14, 2024

    AmeriFirst Creditors Cleared To Pursue $10M Clawback Suit

    AmeriFirst's unsecured creditors can seek repayment of $10.3 million they alleged were fraudulently transferred, a Delaware bankruptcy judge ruled Wednesday, saying there are open questions about a secured lender's influence over the defunct mortgage services provider leading up to its Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

  • August 14, 2024

    Biz Says Mich. Cities Ignore Taxpayers In Fee-Or-Tax Fight

    A pipe fitting business has urged the Michigan Supreme Court to reject municipal organizations' "histrionic" arguments that cities' financial stability will be in jeopardy if the top court finds Detroit's fire inspection fee is a disguised tax, saying the groups are disregarding citizens' rights to be free from illegal taxes.

  • August 14, 2024

    BP Unit Can't Escape Truck Stop Suit, Developers Claim

    Companies suing a BP subsidiary for terminating their truck stop franchise agreement and leaving them stuck with unrecoverable development costs hit back against its "shotgun approach" to have their suit seeking more than $300 million in damages thrown out, telling an Ohio federal judge that their complaint is grounded in compelling claims.

  • August 14, 2024

    NY Judge Tosses Noise Suit Against Queens Tennis Club

    A New York state judge on Tuesday dismissed a Queens nonprofit's nuisance suit against The West Side Tennis Club, which was accused of being responsible for excessive noise coming from concerts held at its century-old outdoor stadium in the borough's Forest Hills neighborhood.

  • August 14, 2024

    Oregon Gets New 600-Acre Wildlife Refuge

    Oregon is home to a new 600-acre wildlife refuge in the Willamette Valley between Salem and Eugene intended to preserve a variety of animal and plant species, the U.S. Department of the Interior said Tuesday.

  • August 14, 2024

    Judge Reconsiders Stop To Colo. River Transfer Without EIS

    An Arizona federal judge on Tuesday reinstated water sale contracts between a company-owned farm on the Colorado River and a town more than a hundred miles away, agreeing with the federal government that his prior decision to void them would cause too much trouble.

  • August 14, 2024

    PwC Owes $11M For Tax Errors, Real Estate Group Says

    PwC should pay £8.9 million ($11.4 million) in damages to a real estate group for miscalculating its tax liabilities and mispricing its properties, which prompted several additional assessments and penalties, according to a claim in a London court.

  • August 14, 2024

    Insurer Off Hook For Jury Award In Construction Dispute

    A commercial insurer does not have to indemnify a contractor found liable for multiple structural and other problems in a home he built, a Massachusetts intermediate appellate court concluded Wednesday in a case of first impression involving what is considered "property damage" in a construction dispute.

  • August 14, 2024

    Rising Star: Kirkland's Michael Shultz

    Michael Shultz of Kirkland & Ellis LLP has advised investor Blue Owl on several major transactions, including its $15 billion acquisition of real estate investment trust STORE Capital Corp. with Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC, earning him a spot among the real estate law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 14, 2024

    Rising Star: Latham's Dustin Paige

    Latham & Watkins LLP counsel Dustin Paige's work on large, complex deals, including a $7 billion joint venture between Digital Realty Trust and Blackstone Inc. to develop four hyperscale data center campuses and Flynn Properties' $1.1 billion acquisition of an 89-hotel portfolio and its subsequent refinancing, has earned him a spot among the real estate attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 14, 2024

    SEC Says Ga. Firm's Ponzi Scheme Fueled 'Lavish' Lifestyle

    An Atlanta-area firm that promised investors lucrative returns on real estate deals was in reality running a "classic Ponzi scheme" by funneling portions of the $300 million it received into buying a yacht and a luxury condo for its founder, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday.

  • August 13, 2024

    Jury Awards $51M To Family In Carbon Monoxide Leak

    A Texas jury awarded a woman and her two children $51 million after they suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning in their apartment in 2015, finding in a Tuesday verdict that their apartment complex was responsible for the leak that allegedly left the children with serious brain injuries.

Expert Analysis

  • In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State

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    On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.

  • What Fla. Ruling Means For Insurer Managed Repair Programs

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    A recent Florida state court ruling in Fraga v. Citizens Property Insurance, holding that the insurer could not seek to add additional terms in its managed repair program consent form, should promote clear written contract terms that clarify the relationship between insurers, policyholders and contractors, says Chip Merlin at Merlin Law Group.

  • Preparing For CFPB 'Junk Fee' Push Into Mortgage Industry

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    As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau considers expanding its "junk fee" initiative into mortgage closing costs, mortgage lenders and third parties must develop plans now that anticipate potential rulemaking or enforcement activity in this space, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts

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    As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Opportunities For Change In FHFA Practices

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron doctrine should lead to better cooperation between the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Congress, and may give the FHFA a chance to embrace transparency and innovation and promote sustainable housing practices, says Mehdi Sinaki at Michelman & Robinson.

  • Series

    NC Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    After federal banking agencies last quarter released a supplemental final rule updating the Community Reinvestment Act, North Carolina banks involved in community development should consider how the new rule might open up opportunities for investment and services that can benefit underserved areas, says Adam Goldblatt at Michael Best.

  • Series

    Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.

  • What NYC's Green Fast Track Means For Affordable Housing

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    New York City's Green Fast Track for Housing initiative, which went into effect last month, aims to speed up the environmental review process for modest residential developments and could potentially pave the way for similar initiatives in other cities, say Vivien Krieger and Rachel Scall at Cozen O'Connor.

  • The Often Overlooked NY Foreclosure Notice Requirements

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    As multifamily real estate defaults mount, New York foreclosing parties should be aware of pitfalls and perils that can await the litigant who is not prepared to ensure adherence with tenant notice requirements under the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law, say Christopher Gorman and John Muldoon at Rosenberg & Estis.

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Roundup

    After Chevron

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    In the month since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 26 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.

  • A Case Study For Calif. Cities In Water Utility Takeovers

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    With growing water scarcity and drier weather looming, some local governments in California have sought to acquire investor-owned water utilities by eminent domain — but the 2016 case of Claremont v. Golden State Water is a reminder that such municipalization attempts must meet certain statutory requirements, say attorneys at Nossaman.

  • Series

    Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.

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